He added that demand from the sector had been underwhelming, leading to the £500,000 yearly budget not being spent in full in any year during the project.Letter from the Scottish Government, 1 March 2022
He said—
“We continue to place great value on the role of civil society in Scotland, and the appetite for global citizenship in our local communities, staff in our public bodies including NHS Scotland, and private sector companies too.”Letter from the Scottish Government, 1 March 2022
The letter cited that 8% of the International Development Fund annually goes to core funding for a range of networking bodies supporting global citizenship in Scotland and Malawi – including the Scotland Malawi Partnership and its sister organisation the Malawi Partnership, as well as Scotland’s International Development Alliance and the Scottish Fair Trade Forum.Letter from the Scottish Government, 1 March 2022
The Minister said he would be meeting with Scotland’s International Development Alliance and the other core-funded networking bodies which the Scottish Government core funds—
“I am keen to hear from them their thoughts on how we can support and engage with civil society following closure of [the] Small Grants programme with a view to future more impactful programming.”Letter from the Scottish Government, 1 March 2022
He emphasised that the Scottish Government was “looking to localise ever more of our assistance within the Global south” – with “a new focus on tackling gender equality” and principles developed with partner countries and civic society – and undertook to keep the Committee informed.Letter from the Scottish Government, 1 March 2022
The decision to cancel the Small Grants Programme has not been without criticism.